Our Work

Continuous Oxygen Monitoring in Buzzards Bay is a collaborative project of Woodwell Climate Research Center, Buzzards Bay Coalition, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Onset Computer Corporation.

The COMBB Project tests deploying continuous dataloggers to measure dissolved oxygen and water quality, engages volunteers with this new technology, and synthesizes the data in a way that is understandable and actionable for local residents, municipal officials, and state regulators who make decisions about water quality.

It builds on the BBC’s Baywatchers program that has been collecting water quality samples at more than 200 stations since 1992. 

COMBB will deploy dataloggers at multiple locations within Onset Bay, West Falmouth Harbor, Apponagansett Bay, the Acushnet River, and the Westport River.  

In two of these estuaries, we will compare the performance of dataloggers placed at fixed locations with dataloggers deployed on mobile TideRider robots that move around within the estuaries and up and down in the water column. The project team will develop new procedures to maintain dataloggers and to check, store, and display the measurement data.

Coupled to our work with the dataloggers, we conduct surveys, interviews, and focus groups to seek input from local communities:

Support for this project comes from a grant from the National Science Foundation Smart and Connected Communities Program and the Buzzards Bay Coalition.

  • We survey water quality monitoring volunteers to learn how they can contribute to new continuous water monitoring as well as traditional methods.
  • We ask town officials about how they can best use the new continuous data.
  • We consult state regulators to make sure the new data can be fed into regulatory processes and used to develop new water quality standards. 
 

Impact

Locally, COMBB will provide more detailed data on the health of multiple Massachusetts estuaries and improve understanding of how dissolved oxygen changes over time in these estuaries and what drives these fluctuations.

More broadly, findings from the project will be shared beyond Buzzards Bay and Massachusetts to help water quality monitoring groups across the U.S. develop methods and best practices for expanding the scope of continuous water quality monitoring.

Support for this project comes from a grant from the National Science Foundation Smart and Connected Communities Program, the Buzzards Bay Coalition, and the Woodwell Center.